Automobile running-gear.



n Wm' c. COOKINGHAM 1. H. HEmNERf AUTOMOBILE RUNNING GEAR.

- PPUCATION FiLD OCT-3; 19H.

lgsg Param gay-11, i915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET L DE WITT C. COOKINGHAM & J. H, HRTNER.

. AUTOMOBILE RUNNING GEAR. l APPLICATION man ocr. 3. 1911.

3@ Patent@ May11,1915.

lNvaNvoms ATT-ORN EY- DEWITT C. COOKiNGHAM 6L J. H. HERTNER.'

AUTOMGBILE RUNNINGGEAR.

. APPUCATON FlLED OCT'3, 19H. I l $139732@ Fatened May 11, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ir srs IDE WITT C. COOKINGHAM AND JOHN H. HERTNER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOS T THE RAUCH AND LANG R-ATION 0F OHIO. I

mesures.

T0 all whom it may Concern Be it known that we, DE VITT C. COOKING- l HAM and JOHN H. HERTNER, citizens of the 'United States, and residents of Cleveland,

county. of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have jointly invented a new and useful Improvement in Automobile Running-Gears,

` ofy which the following is a specification,

the principle of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which we have contemplated applying that principle, ,sol as to distinguish it from other inventions.

The present invention in part comprehends one of the several specific forms or' vehicle running gear shown and described in our co-pending application filed November 30, 1910, Serial No. 594,981. In laddition various details of improvement are comprehended, all having as their object the provision of means whereby the rear axle in a shaft driven motor vehicle may be connected with the frame, or chassis, of the vehicle so as to allow the springs full freedom of action and still allow the use of said springs as distance rods and to take up any turning torque imparted to the casing in I, which the rear axle is housed. This result we accomplish, in general, by supporting the vehicle frame upon said axle by means of an elliptic spring and then connecting one end of said spring, preferably, of course, the front end, with said frame through a member which is also connected with the axle to move in unison therewith; so that,

i while the rear axle may push through the spring in order tO propel the vehicle, ,and

the housing on said axle be held against.

rotating' despite any torque imparted thereto .by the driving or braking mechanism, said spring will nevertheless have the same freedom of movement which it would have yif distance and torsion rods were employed in the n claims.

vfully described and as usually is done in vehicles of the general Tof various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

`.5peci-catilon of Letters Patent.

CARRIAGE COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPO- UTOMOBILE RUNNING-GEAR.

l Patented May 11, 1915.

Application led October 3, 1911.. Serial No. 652,561.I

In said annexed drawings :-Figure 1 is a broken plan view of the chassis of a motor vvehicle wherein have been incorporated our present improven'ients; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a section of a detail, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 3-3, Fig. 2; Fig. 4: is a similar sectional detail taken on the line :fl- 4, Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a section of the detail shown in Fig. 3 taken on the plane indicated by the line 5--5 in said figure; Figs. G and 7 are sectional views of another detail taken at right angles to each other; and Fig.

8 is a side elevational view, more or less diagrammatic in character,y illustrating a modified form of construction.

The chassis illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, as well as in the modified form of construction represented in Fig. 8, is shown yas of typical form with straight side members 1, but -obviously drop frames or other of the various types of frames in cifrrent .use in automobile construction may be employed. Similarly, the form of the motor 2, whether electric as shown or not, together with its suspension and the driving connections 3 from said motorto the rear axle 4, may be varied without departing from thel spirit of the invention. In the present case, such rear axle is a live axle driven through a differential of the usual construction that is housed in an enlargement 5 of the casing (3, within which such axle is contained. Of the rear springs, the mounting and connections of which are of present interest, only one is shown, it being understood that the other will be mount'- ed and connected in the same fashion. Such spring 7 is of full elliptic form, and prefer-r,

form to the curve of the spring. The lower half of the assembled spring is securely clamped to the casing 6, or `rather to a seat j connection which thereon, by means of clips 10 of usual construction, save for the provision on the inside face of one of said clips of a lug 11 Ain the form of a ball for a ball and'socket joint will be presently described (see Fig. 6). The leaves of the upper half of said spring are held in a clamp 12, which is pivotally secured by inea-ns of a pin 13 to the side member of the chassis or the vehicle frame, thus leaving the springas a whole free to oscillate about the axle l.

The lug 11, previously referred to as ex.- tending from the side of the spring-clip 10, serves as a means for attaching to said clip, and thus to the casing and axle, the rear end of a strut member in the form of a rod or bar le?, the forward end of which is connected with the vehicle frame at a point spaced from the point of attachment of the spring thereto, and preferably forwardly of the front end of said spring. To connect the rear end of the rod 1-1 with the lug on the spring clip 10, the rod terminates in a spherical concavity adapted to ht over the round ball-like end of said lug, and is held in suitable bearing` contact therewithv by means of a socket 15. This socket, which is formed on one side with a slot 16 for the body of the lug, is adjustably secured to the rod end by means of a bushing or sleeve 17 interiorly threaded into said socket and itself adapted to bear against a shoulder 18 on the rod. A transversely disposed clamp bolt 19 across the slotted side of the socket serves to lock said socket and sleeve in adjusted position. The sleeve is preferably loosely fitted upon the rod so that the ball may freely center itself in the opposed concave bearings provided by said socket and the end of the rod. All tendency to bind is'thus avoided, while by having the slot in the side of the sleeve of sullicient width the joint is made strictly universal, as should be obvious. l

The forward end of the rod 14; is secured to the frame by means of a link 20, that carries a spherical headed stud 21, said rod being joined thereto by a ball-and-socket joint similar to the one just described, while another balland-socket joint is utilized to secure the upper end of the link to the vehicle frame or rather to a. stud 22 mounted on a bracket 23 on said frame (see Figs 3 and 5), and having a spherical head as in the case of the lug on the spring seat just referred to. The other parts of these two joints, which correspond with the parts of the previously described joint at the rear end of the rod, are correspondingly numbered, and do not require to be further de scribed. rThe forward end of the spring, then, is connected to said bar by means of a .second link of adjustable length, the construction of which is shown in Fig. 4'. This link consists of a yoke 24, that spans the from the spring bolt 2S at the forward end of the spring, such latter bolt being of sufficient length for this purpose. Wlhen detached from the spring bolt, the .eye-bolt may be rotated and the length of the link connection between the spring and the bar' thus varied as desired. A clamp Abolt 29 in the yoke 24 serves to lock it and the eye-bolt together in desired adjusted relation.

No note has been taken in-the foregoing description of the several detailed parts-of the means for lubricating the various joints involved, although oil-cups are shown in several instances. It will be understood that these, or equivalent means, are provided in connection with each such joint.

By the foregoing construction, not only are all of the advantages referred to in our co-pending application secured, but in addition, owing to the provision of universal joints at the point of connection between the rear end of the bar 14 and the rear axle, or axle housing, and between the link 20 and the forward end of such bar and the frame, respectively, a range and freedom of movement for the bar is obtained, sufficient to take care of all displacement and distor tion to which it may be subjected, it being remembered that owing to the two wheels on the rear axle being differently affected by inequalities in the road the axle is frequently turned about an axis longitudinally of the vehicle. Moreover, in the present improved construction we provide, as has been noted, an adjustable link for connecting the forward end of the spring with said bar. This adjustment is' of service not vonly in taking up wear, should the latter occur, but also, in the assembly of the chassis,

it provides for the slight variations that are found in the form and tilt of the springs, it being very diilicult to so accurately form these as to render them strictly interchangeable. The use of the additional leaves 8 in conjunction with the lower halves of the respective elliptic springs 7 "reinforces such lower halves, rendering them considerably heavier than the upper halves of said springs. This is desirable for 1t will be noted that it is the lower half of each spring, and more especially the forward section of such lower half that actually takes up the greater portion of the turning torque of the rear axle housing and which likewise has to resist the tendency on the part of said housing to shift its Liosition longitudinally of the vehicle frame.

A. further feature to be noted in connection with the present construction, is the disposition ofthe point of connection of the a ball and socket joint; and'a linked conrear end of the rod 14 with the axle, or spe cifically with the spring clip 10, (through which, together with the housing, said rod is connected to the axle) to the rear of said axle, it being noted that the lug 11 is carried bythe rearmost of the two spring-clipsA 10. By this arrangement, the tendency which the housing may-manifest to rotate ,about said axle, owing to the driving or braking torque, is restrained' bythe opposing pressure of the strut rod, such tendency to turn being impressed upon the rod through the spring and the link connecting the forward end of the latter with said rod; whereas with such point of attachment in front of the axle, the two tendencies are combined thus causing a correspondingly greater displacemex of the` rixle housing and derangement of the `driving connection 3.

AIn the remaining figure of the drawings, viz., Fig. S, is shown one of the forms of construction illustrated in our co-pending application and forming in a sense the basis ofthe improved construction hereinbefore described. Thus, this former construction shows a spring 30 similarly mounted v'on the rear axle 4 and having its forward end connected to a bar 31 that is-attached at its rear end to the rear of the axle. Such attachment, however, in this case is by means of a link 32 instead of'directly through a ball and socket joint to the spring seat, and the forward end of the spring, conversely, instead of having a linked connection to the bar, is secured thereto by means of a pin 33 sliding in a slot 3i in said bar. A simple ball-and-socket joint 35 serves to connect the forward end of thebar with the frame.

IThis construction will illustrate4 how, so far as the lgeneral features of construction herein shownand described are concerned, the pin and slot type of connection may be substituted for the link connection, although it does not lend itself so readily to the construction of a universal joint, such as is desirable bothat the forward and rear ends of the rod.

(.)ther modes of applying the principle of nection between one end of said spring and said member.

2. In a vehicle, the combination of the vehicle frame; a wheel axle; a housing for said axle; an elliptic spring supporting said -end with said housing; a link connecting the other end of said member with -said frame at a point spaced from the point of attachmentof said spring to said frame; and a link connecting one end of said spring to said member, said link including a yoke pivotally secured to said member about a transverse axis, and an eye-bolt adjustably threaded in said yoke at one end and sccured to the' spring bolt at its other.

4. lnna vehicle, the combination of the vehicle trame; a wheel axle; a housing for sai d axle; an elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing; a rigid member connected at one endl with said housing by a ball and socket joint; a' link connecting the other end of said member with said frame at a point spaced from the point of attachment of said spring to said frame, said link being thus connected by a ball and socket joint with both said member and frame; and a link connecting one end of said spring to said member.

`5. In a. vehicle, the combination of the vehicle frame; a wheel axle; a housing for said axle: an elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing; a rigid member connected at one end with said housing at a point to the rear ot' said axle and at its other end to said `frame at a point in front of the point of attachment of said spring` to said frame; and a connection between the forward end of said spring and said member. j

6. ln a vehicle, the combination of the lvehicle frame; a wheel axle; ahousing for said axle; an elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing; a rigid member connected at one end with said housing at apoint to the rear of said axle and at its l other end to said frame at a point in front "f1-ame upon said housing; a member connected with said housing and with said frame at a point spaced from `the point of connection of said spring thereto, said membei-being thus connected with said frame by of the point el attachment of said spring to said frame; anda linked connection be ico tween the forward end of said spring and said member.

7. n `a vehicle, the combination of the vehicle frame; a wheel-axle; a housing for CII said axle; an elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing; a rigid member` connected at one end with said housing at a point to the rear of said axle; a link connecting the other end of said member with said frame at a point in front of the point of attachment of said spring to said frame; and an adjustable link connecting the forward end of said spring to said member.

8. In a vehicle, the combination of the vehicle frame; a wheel axle; a housing for said axle; an elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing; a rigid member connected at one end with said housing at a point to the rear of said axle by a ball and socket joint; a link connecting the other end of said member with said frame at a point in front of the point of attachment of said spring to said frame; said link being thus connected by a. ball and socket joint to both said member and frame; and a link connecting one end of said spring to said member.

9. In a vehicle; the combination of the vehiclev frame; a wheel axle; a housing for said axle; an elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing; a lug with a spherical head on said housing adjacent to said spring; a rigid member connected at one end with said trame and having its other end provided with a spherical recess adapted to bear against said lug and with an oppositely directed shoulder; a socket fitted over said lug; a sleeve on said member adapted to engage the shoulder thereon; saidA sleeve having threaded engagement with said socket; and means connecting one end of said spring with said member.

l0. In a motor vehicle, the combination of the vehicle frame; a wheel axle; a housing for said axle; an elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing; a lug with a spherical head on said housing adjacent to said spring; a rigid member connected atonc end with said frame and having its other end provided with a spherical recess adapted to bear against said lug and with an oppositely directed shoulder; a socket .'fitted over said lug; a. sleeve loosely fitting on said member and adapted to yengage the shoulder thereon, said sleeve being threaded into said socket; and means connecting one end of said spring with said member.

1l. ln a motor vehicle, the combination of the vehicle frame; a driving wheel axle; a housing 'for said axle; a iull elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing; and means connecting one end oi' aid spring with said frame whereby the part ot' said housing to turn or shift its position longitudinally of said traine may be taken up through said means and the lower halt` of said spring; the latter being reinforced so as to be heavier than the upper halt', and thus be adapted to withstand `the outside of said mai any rendentv on any such turning or shifting strain, without detracting from the resilient action of the upper half of said spring.

12. In a motor vehicle, the combination of the vehicle frame; a driving wheel axle; a housing for said axle; a full elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing, the upper and lower halves of said spring consisting of main leaves extending the full length of the spring and shorter leaves on the outside of said main leaves, respectively; means connecting one end of said spring with said frame, whereby any tendency on the part of said housing to turn or shift its position longitudinally of said frame may be taken up through said means and such lower spring half; and additional short leaves on the inside of the lower half of such spring, whereby such lower spring half is made heavier than the upper half` and thus adapted to withstand any such turning or shifting strain, without detracting from the resilient action of such upper half.

13. In a motor vehicle, the combination oi the vehicle frame; a driving wheel axle; a housing for said axle; a full ellipticspring supporting said frame upon said housing, the upper and lower halves of said spring consisting of main leaves extending the full length of the spring and shorter leaves on the outside of said main leaves; respectively; means, including a link, connecting one end of said spring with said frame, whereby any tendency on the part of said housing to turn or shift its position longitudinally of said frame may be taken up through said means and such lower spring half; and additional short leaves on the inside of the lower half o'such spring, whereby such lower spring haltl is made heavier than the upper halt` and thus adapted to withstand any such turning or shitting strain ing from the resilient action of such upper half. l

14. In a motor vehicle; the combination of the vehicle frame; ai driving wheel aXle; a housing for said axle; a full elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing; the upper and lower halves of said spring consisting of main leaves extending the full length of the spring and shorter leaves on n leaves, respectively; a rigid member connected at one end with without detract` said housing and at the other end with said lg@ frame at a point spaced from the point of attachment of said spring to said frame;

means connecting one end ot said spring to said member whereby any tendency on the part of said housing to turn or shift its position longitudinally of said frame may be taken up through said means and such lower spring halt: and additional short leaves on the inside of the lower halt et such spring. whereby such lower spring half is made heavier than the upper half and thus adaptedv to withstand any such turning or shiftling strain, Without detracting from the resilient action of such upper half.

15. In a motor vehicle, the combination of the vehicle frame; a driving Wheel axle; a

housing for said axle; a full elliptic spring supporting said frame upon said housing,

the' upper and lower halves of said spring consistlng of main leaves extending .the full length of the spring and shorter leaves on the outside of said main leaves, respectively, a rigid member connected at one end with said housing and at the other end With said frame at a point spaced from the point of attachment of said spring to' said frame; a link connecting one end of said spring to said member, whereby any .tendency on the part of said housing to turn or shift its position longitudinally of said frame may be taken up through saidmeans and such lower spring half; and additional short leaves .on the inside of the lower half .of such spring, whereby s uch lower spring half is made heavier than the upper half and thus adapted to withstand any such turning or shifting strain, Without detracting from the resilient action of such upper half.

Signed by us, this 30th day of September, 30 

